COMPETITION COUNCIL TERMINATES INVESTIGATION ON THE ACTIONS OF UAB BALTIC PETROLEUM

On 30 January, the Competition Council (the Council) terminated investigation on the actions of UAB Baltic Petroleum (Baltic Petroleum) that granted the company a right to exploit oil stations owned by BAB Lietuvos kuras (Lietuvos kuras).

According to the findings based on the lease agreement signed by Lietuvos kuras and Baltic Petroleum in May 2003, Baltic Petroleum had rented 68 oil stations owned by Lietuvos kuras.

The Council determined that Baltic Petroleum had not been exploiting seven out of 68 rented oil stations before having concluded the aforementioned lease agreement. Therefore, these seven oil stations alone were subject to the investigation concerning a suspected non-notified merger.

The Law on Competition stipulates that the intended merger must be notified and cleared by the Council where the combined aggregate income of the merging parties in the business year preceding the merger is more than LTL 50 million and the aggregate income of each of at least two merging parties in the business year preceding the merger is more than LTL 5 million.

During the investigation the Council determined that the combined aggregate income of the merging parties was less than LTL 50 million. Having evaluated all the circumstances related to the suspected merger, the Council established that Baltic Petroleum did not breach the requirements of the Law on Competition.

Notes

 (1) Mergers (Concentrations) are cases when two independent undertakings merge or when one undertaking gains control over another. As these changes may restrict effective competition in a relevant market, mergers involving firms that exceed turnover limits established in the Law on Competition must be cleared by the Council. The Council authorises only such mergers that will not have significant adverse effects on the conditions of competition.

(2) A merger notification must be submitted to the Council prior the implementation of a merger. The merger notification shall be submitted after the submission of the proposal to conclude an agreement or acquire shares or assets, an instruction to conclude the agreement, conclusion of the agreement, acquisition of the right of ownership or the right to dispose of certain assets. The merger notification may also be submitted in case of a good faith intention to conclude the agreement or to make a public bid to buy up shares.